kearney

In going through my parents stuff... I came across a menu from the Captains Dinner on the SS Atlantic for July 30 1958. My family sailed on this ship from Amsterdam to NYC... I was about 5 years old at the time... My first cruise...so to speak. Not as fancy an offering as on the more modern cruise to cruise type of sailings... this was more transportation. In fact we sailed to bring back my Dad's 1958 Mercedes 190 coup. I think we were all sea sick on that sailing...no stabilizers back then.

Originally I thought that the short staffing issues were to do with reduced capacity...but I recently heard on the news that the State Department was backed up with paperwork which impacted cruise staffing. So their labor issues are a bit different than local businesses... last two cruises..crews were happy to be there and some delaying end of contracts to help get caught up after not working for a long time. Supply chain issues may also impact drink options and perhaps meals as well. I guess the key is to be patient and flexible and realize that for a while cruising may not be quite up to the standards you are used to... but they will get there... at some point. I hope to still be alive then 🙂

I found this link which shows the menu at Cafe al Bacio on Celebrity... it will be helpful when looking at the non alcohol coffees and ones with alcohol. https://www.myvirtualvacations.net/cafe-al-bacio--gelateria.html Doesn't seem to show prices for the ones with alcohol...

When I think of Celebrity targeting younger passengers... it makes me think of when I worked on Lilt Home Permanents back in the day. I described our demographic curve as a toothpaste tube...where we were losing on the back end and not replenishing on the front..or younger end.. guess I was right..since I haven't seen home permanents on store shelves in decades.... While we older folks make up a large percentage of their loyal users...they need to generate more younger people and the earlier they can get them ..the more likely they will hold on to them as customers for a long time. Since Celebrity has not gone the flow rider, ice skating more active way of Royal..which is interesting to families...it makes sense that Celebrity target DINKs (double income no kids). Like an earlier poster.. I don't mind..I expect that...I just love the visuals of the ships. Now I will say that I prefer the S class ..with its old fashioned libraries and card rooms.... mostly I like these areas and additional public spaces to use when I don't want to sit in the sun or go to an activity.... sometimes it is nice just to sit and read someplace outside the cabin and not in the middle of everything.. I too miss the 14 day itineraries..but like the 10-12 days ... love getting to the southern caribbean.

In the past we never got the drink package because..we don't drink sodas...unsweet iced tea and coffee were my go too beverages... and the Elite Cocktail Hour met my alcohol needs... and 90 mintes of internet were enough to check my emails. but I have to say... once we did get a package... I found my self drinking more specialty coffees and tried more cocktails than I did in the past...and was on the internet constantly... which in March '20 was handy to find out what was happening with covid while on Reflection. Our next cruise pricing was so good that the sale without the package was slightly higher... But in the future... I am wondering if I can go back to cruise only.....

Until a few years ago we never had a package... but we were Elite... so the evening cocktail hour from 5-7 was all we needed. Plus the occassional bottle of wine with dinner.. you can save that same bottle for the next evening..if you don't finish it.... I like unsweet iced tea.. so the Ocean view cafe satisfied that need..along with their coffee... sometimes at breakfast...I put a dollop of whipped cream..from the pancake section... A few years ago we had an AI perk.. and I have to say..it will be hard to go back... I love specialty coffees from the Cafe.. which run about $5.. if you don't have AI. And it was nice not to have to think about the bill total. But I did find I drank a lot more than normal... because it was covered....

Need to keep an eye on the banners... prices shown are cruise only until you get deep into it... price actually slightly better than the original sale..but... about $875 more than what I booked back in January.

My husband has bad knees and issue resulting from quad detachment (surgery only partially successful). So we rent a scooter for him. If more than 2 of you are in a stateroom... parking in a stateroom can be a problem unless you get an accessible cabin. There are a few spots around the ship were you can park it and it does not interfere with hall traffic... those spots are near elevators. Like Royal.. regular cabins have a step up into the shower..and no real grab bars.. FYI. My husband has never had problems getting help in the Ocean View cafe..usually someone will approach him..but you can always ask one of the managers hovering around the area. You might want to study the deck plan in selecting cabins. We tend to pick one near the elevators in the mid section of the S class ships. The idea is that if something happens to the scooter... walking is minimized. For this reason we usually go on deck 6. The area around the elevators is surprisingly quiet except periodically there might be music from the atrium. You might consider getting wheelchair assistance for getting on and off the ship at the end of the cruise. It is a long walk even if you are mobile. (there is a form for this... not sure how critical it is). If you use wheelchair assistance you will need to flag down a chair at the port..or ask the luggage porter... at the end of the cruise, they usually ask you to meet at a place like Sushi on 5 to get a wheelchair off the ship... I also suggest that the first night on the ship you ask the host for a table not far from the entrance... usually we end up at the same table each night (select dining). There are two groups that rent scooters... special needs at sea and Scootaround.. look for them online.. Special needs site will walk you through the different options so you can see how much it will cost. You might want to look on FB there is a group "Royal Caribbean Accessible Cruising" where people discuss issues associated with travel..

This post reminds me of experience on our last cruise..back in April. When DH and I arrived at port.. the port agent looked at my husband and said.. "oh Mr Kearney are you traveling alone". The pusher who handled DHs wheelchair..took charge and got us to the counter..where after some time..they corrected the situation...however..they told me that I would have to go to guest relations to get my key card... which I did.... later we went to the Martini Bar and just before dinner we went to the sky lounge.. while there the bar tended noted DH's card listed Classic package..but my card did not.... so back to guest relations to get a new card...later I noticed a charge from the earlier visit to the Martini Bar.... a long way to go to remind people to make sure their cruise card notes your beverage package.

I put several links (everything in bold)... and I meant to say that if you looked right there is a bit of a blockage... looks like the rail for the magic carpet.

This link should help list of obstructed cabins on Edge and Apex...click on to check photos Compare Deck plan for Beyond to the comparable cabin..looking at deck plan for Edge/Apex .. Off hand it appears your cabin compares with 8196. Looking straight out..no issues but looking to the left..the view will be partially blocked by the magic carpet jut out section.... look at Edge/Apex cabin 8198

If I recall the free bag of laundry with Elite status allows up to 30 items per bag. a pair of socks is one bag. Last cruise the bag was cloth..stronger than the paper bags that we had previously...

It is very hot in Atlanta today... 99 degrees right now... but the air is unusually dry.. so little chance of storms today. So any flight delays will likely be due to weather other places or pilot shortages... but if you are flying Delta out of Atlanta... they should have many options to get to Florida... best of luck and safe travels... I have noticed Infinity hanging out around Florida for several weeks... noticed it leave port before the last storm and wondered where it was going I assume they were getting the ship back ready for passengers.

I thought the corkage fee...at one time was something like $25... in the main dining room... which is why we only brought wine to have in our cabin. Alas our cellar is now bare ... we found we drank faster than we collected 🙂 Nice to hear that this is gone....

Now that does make sense... As a side note... seeing the supply issues..which only appear to get worse..now might not be the best time to spend extra for premium package

Good to know... I thought there was a charge in the dining room.... but wasn't sure..in past I brought a cork screw to open in the cabin... any idea when that changed?

What is the corkage fee on bottles you bring

Looking at the two sets of photos..you can really see just how much smaller the IV veranda is..vs S class. I noticed that in a few of the IV photos..the table was removed from the IV veranda... Notice how difficult it would be to close the folding doors without moving furniture around

We sailed in late April on Equinox. I did notice fewer bar servers...but it really didn't impact us. We like the Passport bar and at 4 there was just the bar tender and additional bartenders and servers arrive around 5pm. So on occasion when it was a sea day it might be a little bit of a wait between 4 and 5.. We did the select dining... never a problem for us.. we sat at a table for two. I did notice that the larger table took longer to have dinner... not unexpected but while we were done with dinner in about an hour..it probably took them more like an hour and a half.. so the smaller the table the faster the service. Beyond that.. I really did not notice short staffing issues... now on our sailing there were perhaps 50 who tested positive over the course of the week. If I recall correctly.. most had no symptoms... and I think most were crew. We sailed Feb '20... arrived back Mar 13..the day cruise ships announced cancelling cruises beginning Mar 15.. We cancelled a few in '21 due to masking and frankly changing protocols.... but we did sail early Dec '21... when we got back Omicron came on the scene...so we moved the planned Feb '22 cruise to August.... we then sailed late April.. on Equinox... great cruise... Omicron seemed to be on the wain... Interestingly when we arrived at the port they moved us from deck 6 to deck 8... to keep that section of deck 6 available for quarantine. Some were masked..we were not. Why did we cruise...well DH mobility is crap and it wasn't getting better... so just how long do you put off living? We decided that we had moved things around enough and our cruising days are numbered ... we may have lucked out.. but we went and we plan on going again... If your parents are healthy... I would go... service level was excellent...many have not worked for a very long time...so bring extra $ for tipping... they appreciate anything you give them... and have fun....

If you look at the original animated video of the IV cabin and compare it to photos of an actual cabin...you will notice that the perspective in the video is off... it makes it look like the cabin is wider than it really is... I can't help but wonder if decisions about the ship were based on these inaccurate representations. As I recall the size of the veranda section is listed as something like 41 sq ft...but if you actually measure the usable sq ft size..it is about 32 sq ft.. I suspect they do not exclude the impact of the walls... which ..unlike plexiglass partitions contain all the electronics for the window and blinds. Alas I don't think there is anyway to improve the veranda on newer versions of the ship...perhaps they could be made deeper...but since the veranda is part of the structure of the ship...vs hanging on the outside... the cost of design changes and material costs would likely be prohibitive... But try it... as I noted earlier.. I did like it...just not enough to chose E class over S class...

I wish the IV was larger than it is.. If two people are standing there and want to close the folding doors.. it isn't possible to do without removing a chair or the table...it is very tight fit. I don't generally sit on the regular veranda...I burn just thinking of the sun... so I kinda liked the idea.. but DH did not like it... he likes to sit on the veranda and read ...while I was out on excursions the captain closed and locked the window for hours to allow the window washing equipment to go by. Now we were on an early sailing so I am not sure if they keep it locked as long as they did on that cruise. I like the feeling of more privacy... except for one small thing.. if you are in a port like Nassau and want to change for dinner without giving the ship across the pier ...a show..you have to close the blinds enough. Also, if you make the mistake of hitting the "morning' button on the app... the lights come up and blinds open...which was a bit of a shock as we were pulling into Ft Lauderdale.. while laying in bed. I think the idea is great for itineraries like the inner passage where there is so much to see that you don't want to miss a minute..also if the weather is cold, wet or really hot..nice to be able to sit inside with a nice full view. But if you like the feeling of the ocean breeze ..you really don't get that ..you are more protected than on a traditional veranda. I frankly suggest people try it and see for themselves..I loved the bathrooms on this class..very nicely designed...not crazy about the chaise lounges..too low..and not very comfortable..I prefer a sofa.

I started doing this when I kept reading how people were saving hundreds of dollars during earlier sales..and I wondered..how is this possible ..when I looked the sales were higher...and I didn't book that long ago.. I must have caught a low spot during covid peak or something......

That could be arranged.... you should see the charts of my heart rate variability from my apple watch... or my ecg graph... yeah.. I plot that too 🙂

Yes... my husband also... retired product manager.. I have to analyze something...! My real hobby is family history.. and there too I can go off into the tree following strangers who are extremely distantly related.....

I cancelled a Feb 22 cruise and moved it to Aug 29 Equinox..10 day... I made the change sometime lat in '22 when Omicron began being a problem... As sales popped up I repriced the cruise. Here is a copy of my spreadsheet... if you look at the change in the gross price.. you will realize that the various 30%, 60% etc deals are not necessarily deals..since the gross price is changing. Candidly.. I booked these realizing that prices would have to rise..although my thinking at the time was the need to make up revenue losses for the period they were shut down.. however given out of control inflation... this trend will likely continue until demand slows. Anyway the charge may be a bit difficult to follow..but you can see the net increases over the original booking both in total and per person per day. I added this last bit when one of the sales offered premium package..and wanted to see how much more I would be paying for that...